,  r  A  ft 

#Zl5 


Duke  University  Libraries 

Correspondence 
Conf  Pam  12mo  #225 

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IZ 


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CORRESPONDENCE 


BETWEEN 


GOVERNOR   BROWN 


AND 


A.    FULLARTON,  ACTING   BRITISH    CONSUL, 

RESIDENT  AT  SAVANNAH, 


IN   REFERENCE   TO   TIIE 


Liability   of  British   subjects, 

RESIDENT  IN  GEORGIA, 


TO    PERFORM 


MILITARY    DUTY 


BOUGHTON,  NISBET,  BARNES  &.  MOORE,  State  Fri»7sm. 

MILLEDGEVILLE,      GA. 

1863!" 


v  wv 


•> 


t/l./l 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


British  Consulate,      ^ 
Savannah,  July  22,  1SC3.  5 

To  His  Excellency  Gov.  Brown,  Marietta: 

Sir  : — My  attention  lias  been  called  to  your  Proclama- 
tion, and  to  Gen,  Wayne's  General  Order  No.  16,  attached 
thereto,  ordering  a  draft  on  the  4th  of  August,  from  persons 
between  the  ages  of  18  and  4-5  years,  including  British 
subjects,  in  each  county  which  does  not  furnish  its  quota 
of  volunteers  to  complete  the  number  of  8,000  men  re- 
quired for  home  defence. 

I  am  informed  that  this  force  when  organized  is  to  be 
turned  over  to  the  Confederate  Government.  British  sub- 
jects, if  drafted,  will  then  be  forced  to  become  Confederate 
soldiers,  a  position  in  which  Her  Majesty's  Government 
have,  since  the  commencement  of  the  war,  contended  they 
ought  not  to  be  placed,  and  from  which  Her  Majesty's 
Consuls  have  been  instructed  to  use  every  means  at  their 
command  to  preserve  them. 

Her  Majesty's  Government  acknowledges  the  right  of  a 
foreign  State  to  claim  the  services  of  British  subjects  resi- 
dent within  its  limits,  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  inter- 
nal order,  (in  other  words,  to  act  as  a  local  police  force,) 
and  even  to  a  limited  extent,  to  defend  against  local  invasion 
by  a  foreign  power,  theplaces  of  their  residence,  but  they 
deny  the  claim  to  services  beyond  this,  and  accordingly  I 
have  given  advice  in  the  following  sense  to  British  subjects 
who  have  applied  to  me  ou  the  subject  of  this  draft:  that 
militia  duty  is  in  general  an  obligation  incident  to  foreign 
residence,  and  that  therefore  they  must  not  object  to  render 
the  service  required  so  long  as  the  law  requires  a  militia 
organization  for  the  maintenance  of  internal  peace  and  or- 
der. But  if  it  shall  so  happen  that  the  militia,  after  being 
so  organized,  shall  be  brought  into  conflict  with  the  forces 
of  the  United  States  without  being  turned  over  to  the  Con- 
federate States,  so  as  to  form  a  component  part  of  its  ar- 
mies, or  if  it  should  be  so  turned  over,  in  either  event,  the 
service  required  would  be  such  as  British  subjects  cannot  be 
expected  to  perform  :  in  the  first  case,  in  addition  to  the 
ordinary  accidents  of  war,  they  would  be  liable  to  be  treat- 
ed as  rebels  and  traitors,  and  not  as  prisoners  of  war,  and 


in  the  second  case,  they  would  be  under  the  operation  of  a 
law  (requiring  them  to  take  up  arms  against  the  United 
States  Government,)  which  had  no  existence  when  for  com- 
mercial purposes  they  first  took  up  their  residence  in  this 
country,  and  would  moreover  be  disobeying  the  order  of 
their  legitimate  sovereign,  which  exhorts  them  to  an  ob- 
servance of  the  strictest  neutrality  and  subjects  them  to  se- 
vere penalties.  For  all  local  service,  however,  short  of  the 
Bervice  I  have  endeavored  to  describe,  I  have  advised  them 
that  the  militia  organization  is  lawful  and  should  be  acqui- 
esced in  by  resident  British  subjects. 

Nearly  all  British  subjects  have  besides  taken  au  oath 
that  they  will  not,  under  any  circumstances,  take  part  in 
the  contest  now  raging  in  this  country,  by  taking  up  arms 
on  either  side. 

I  hope,  sir,  you  will  therefore  so  modify  the  General  Or- 
der in  respect  of  British  subjects  who  have  certificates  from 
me,  as  to  release  them  from  a  position  which,  in  the  event 
of  a  draft,  will  certainly  render  them  liable  to  all  the  pen- 
alties denouuced  by  their  own  sovereign  against  a  violation 
of  their  neutrality,  calling  upon  them,  at  the  same  time,  to 
render  service  as  local  police  for  the  maintenance  of  inter- 
nal peace  and  order. 

On  a  former  occasion,  Mr.  Molyneux  advised  you  that 
the  Consulate  was  placed  under  my  charge  during  his  ab- 
sence. I  recently  submitted  my  authority  to  act  as  Her 
Majesty's  Consul  to  Mr.  Benjamin,  who  duly  accorded  to 
me  his  approval  and  recognition. 

I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

A.  FULLARTON, 

Acting  Consul. 


Marietta,  Aug.  8,  1SG3. 
Mr.  A.  FuUarton,  Acting  Consul  of  Great  Britain  : 

Dear  Sir: — Your  letter  of  i>2d  July  reached  these  .Head' 
Quarters  during  my  absence,  which  has  caused  delay  in  my 
reply. 

Judging  from  your  communication,  I  am  obliged  to  con- 
clude that  you  have  not  correctly  understood  the  objects  of 
the  Government  in  organizing  the  8,000  men  lor  home  de- 
fense. 

You  admit  the  right  of  the  State  to  claim  the  services  of 
British  subjects  resident  within  its  limits  For  the  purpose  of 
maintaining  "internal  order,"  and  even  to  a  limited  extent 
to  defend  the  places  of  their  residence  against  local  invasion 
by  a  foreign  power.  In  view  of  this  correct  admission  on 
your  part,  I  do  not  deem  it  necessary  to  quote  authority  to 


show  the  obligation  of  Her  Majesty's  subjects  to  render  the 
service  now  called  for.  To  maintain  "  internal  order,"  and 
to  defend  to  a  limited  extent  "against  local  invasion  by  a  for- 
eign power,"  are  the  sole  objects  of  the  proposed  military 


organization 


While  the  men  are  to  be  mustered  into  service  for  the 
purpose  of  affording  them  the  rights  and  privileges  of  prisj 
oners  of  war,  in  case  of  capture  by  the  enemy,  and  to  ena- 
ble the  government  to  command  them  without  delay  in 
case  of  sudden  emergency,  it  is  not  proposed  to  take  them 
from  their  homes,  or  to  interrupt  their  ordinary  avocations, 
unless  it  be  a  case  of  sudden  emergency  or  pressing  neces- 
sity, for  the  defense  of  their  homes,  or  such  localities  as 
command  their  homes,  when  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

The  Government  of  the  United  States,  in  violation  of  the 
usages  of  civilized  warfare,  is  now  resorting  to  every  means 
within  its  power  to  incite  servile  insurrection  in  our  midst. 
It  is  not  only  stealing  our  slaves,  which  are  private  proper- 
ty, or  taking  them  by  open  robbery,  mustering  them  into 
its  service,  and  arming  them  against  us,  but  it  is  doing  all 
it  can  by  secret  agencies,  to  stir  up  and  excite  the  angry 
passions  of  the  mass  of  ignorant  slaves  in  the  interior, 
whom  it  can  neither  reach  by  theft  nor  robbery,  to  cause 
them  to  rise  in  rebellion  against  their  masters,  with  whom 
they  are  now  comfortable  and  happy,  and  to  set  fire  to  our 
cities,  towns,  villages,  and  other  property.  It  is  needless 
for  me  to  add  that  in  case  they  should  be  successful  in  inci- 
ting insurrection  to  this  point,  the  butchery  of  helpless 
women  and  children  will  doubtless  be  the  result. 

As  a  means  of  accomplishing  this  object,  as  well  as  of 
destroying  public  and  private  property,  the  enemy  is  now 
preparing  to  send  cavalry  raids  as  far  as  possible  into  this 
and  other  States  of  the  Confederacy.  These  robber  bands 
will,  no  doubt,  burn  and  destroy  property  where  they  go, 
carry  off  as  many  slaves  as  they  can,  and  attempt  to  stir  up 
others  with  whom  they  come  in  contact,  to  insurrection, 
robbery,  and  murder. 

It  is  not  expected  that  the  8,000  men  called  for  by  my 
Proclamation,  and  the  general  order  to  which  you  refer, 
will  be  used  against  the  regular  armies  of  the  United  States. 
The  provisional  armies  of  the  Confederate  States  have 
shown  themselves  fully  able  to  meet  the  enemy  upon  an 
hundred  battle-fields,  and  to  drive  them  back  with  severe 
chastisement,  wherever  they  have  not  had  the  advantage  of 
their  navy  as  a  support.  But  it  is  expected  that  this  home 
organization,  while  it  may  be  but  little  of  its  time  in  actual 
service,  will,  in  case  of  sudden  emergency,  assist  in  repel- 
ling the  plundering  bands  of  the  enemy,  which  evade  con- 
tact with  our  armies,  and  make  predatory  incursions  to  our 


verv  homes  for  the  purposes  already  mentioned,  and  that 
they  will  assist  in  suppressing  any  servile  insurrections 
which  these  plundering  parties  may  be  able  to  incite. 

Many  who  claim  to  be  her  Majesty's  subjects  in  this 
State  are  large  slaveholders,  whose  danger  of  loss  of  prop- 
erty, and  of  insult  and  cruel  injury  to  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren, in  case  of  insurrection,  is  as  great  as  the  danger  to 
the  citizens  of  this  State,  and  their  obligation  to  protect 
their  property  and  their  families  Bgainst  the  local  aggres- 
sions of  the  Ijnited  States  forces,  is  no  less. 

While  Her  Majesty's  government  has  constantly  refused 
to  recognize  the  existence  of  the  government  of  the  Con- 
federate States,  her  subjects  have  enjoyed  its  protection. 
And  while  she  refuses  to  hold  any  diplomatic  relations 
with  us,  you,  as  her  representative,  are  permitted  to  repre- 
sent her  interests  here,  and  to  be  heard  for  the  protection 
of  her  subjects  and  their  property.  In  this  state  of  things, 
British  subjects  who  still  elect  to  remain  in  the  Confedera- 
cy, should  not  expect  to  do  less  than  the  service  now  re- 
quired of  them  ;  and  while  free  egress  will  in  no  case  be 
denied  them,  should  they  desire  to  depart  from  this  State, 
less  than  the  service  now  required  will  not  in  future  be  de- 
manded, in  case  they  choose  to  remain-  in  the  State  and  en- 
joy its  protection. 

Experience  has  convinced  the  government  at  "Washing- 
ton of  its  inability,  by  armed  force  in  the  battle-field,  to 
combat  Southern  valor  and  compel  us  to  submit  to  its  des- 
potic tyranny.  It  has,  therefore,  in  connection  with  that 
above  mentioned,  adopted  the  further  policy  of  destroying 
agricultural  implements,  mills,  and  provisions,  wherever  its 
armies  penetrate  into  our  country,  with  a  view  of  effecting 
by  starvation  that  which  it  cannot  accomplish  by  the  skill 
and  courage  of  its  troops. 

As  a  further  auxiliary  to  the  accomplishment  of  this  ob- 
ject, it  drives  from  the  territory  overrun  by  its  armies,  the 
men,  women  and  children  who  are  true  to  the  government 
of  their  choice,  and  compels  them  to  seek  safety  and  sup- 
port in  this  and  other  interior  States.  It  thus  taxes  the 
productions  of  the  interior  States  with  the  support,  not 
only  of  their  own  population  and  the  armies  of  the  Con- 
federacy, but  of  a  large  number  of  refugees.  With  the 
blessings  of  Divine  Providence,  which,  thanks  to  His  name, 
have  been  so  abundantly  showered  upon  us,  we  are,  by 
abandoning  the  culture  of  cotton,  making  ample  supplies 
for  another  year.  While  we  are  surrounded  by  such  an 
enemy,  the  British  government  cannot  fail  to  see  and  ap- 
preciate the  reason  why  we  cannot  afford  to  retain  and  pro- 
tect among  us  a  class  of  consumers  who  produce  none  of 
the  necessaries  of  life,  and  who  refuse  to  take  up  arms  for 


interior  or  local  defense,  but  claim  the  privilege  of  remain- 
ing as  subjects  of  foreign  powers,  engaged  in  commercial 
purstits,  in  ports  with  which  their  government  recognizes 
no  legal  commerce. 

But  you  insist  that  there  was  no  law  in  existence  requir- 
ing British  subjects  to  take  up  arms  against  the  United 
States  government,  when,  for  commercial  purposes,  they 
first  took  up  their  residence  in  the  country.  You  must  not 
forget,  however,  in  this  connection,  that  at  that  time  the 
State  of  Georgia  was,  by  her  own  sovereign  consent,  a 
component  part  of  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
and  that  since  that  time  she  has,  for  just  cause,  withdrawn 
her  consent  to  further  connection  with  the  aggressive  States 
of  the  North,  and  now,  with  her  Southern  sisters,  forms  the 
government  of  the  Confederate  States,  against  which  the 
States  which,  remain  united  under  the  name  of  the  United 
States,  are  waging  a  cruel  and  unjust  war.  With  this 
change  in  the  political  relations  of  the  country,  new  obli- 
gations are  imposed  upon  the  subjects  of  foreign  powers 
resident  within  this  and  other  Southern  States,  which  make 
it  their  duty  to  aid  hi  the  maintenance  of  internal  order, 
and  in  the  protection  of  their  domicils  and  the  localities 
where  they  are  situated,  when  assailed  by  the  troops  of  the 
United  States  government,  or  to  depart  from  the  States  and 
seek  protection  elsewhere.  Again,  the  commercial  reasons 
which  you  say  caused  her  Majesty's  subjects  to  take  up 
their  residence  here,  ceased  to  exist  when  her  Majesty's 
government  refused  longer  to  recognize  the  existence  of  le- 
gal commerce  between  her  subjects  and  the  citizens  of  this 
State,  and  warned  them  of  the  loss  of  her  protection  if  they 
attempted  to  carry  on  commercial  relations  with  us  through 
our  ports. 

At  the  time  English  subjects  took  up  their  residence 
among  our  people  for  commercial  purposes,  our  ports  were 
open  to  the  commerce  of  the  world,  and  foreign  govern- 
ments which  had  commercial  treaties  with  us  had  a  right 
to  claim  for  their  subjects  engaged  in  commerce,  the  usual 
commercial  privileges  "and  protection  while  domiciled  here. 

Now  the  government  of  the  United  States  claims  that  it 
has  our  ports  blockaded;  and  while  the  whole  civilized 
world  knows  that  the  blockade  is  not  effective,  and  that 
vessels  enter  and  clear  almost  daily  at  our  ports,  the  gov- 
ernment of  her  Majesty  chooses  to  recognize  it  as  a  legal 
blockade,  and  to  acquiesce  in  the  paper  prohibition  which 
excludes  English  subjects  with  their  commerce  from  our 
ports.  If  the  British  .government  adopts  the  pretensions 
of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  holds  that 
Charleston  and  Savannah  are  still  ports  belonging  to  the 
United  States,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  blockade  of 


8 

these  ports  by  the  United  States  government  is  a  palpable 
violation  of  the  commercial  treaty  stipulations  between  the 
two  governments,  as  the  U.  S.  government  has  no  right  un- 
der these  treaties,  to  blockade  her  own  ports  against  Eng- 
lish commerce.  If  tested  by  the  laws  of  nations,  to  which 
the  British  government  is  a  party,  it  is  no  blockade  because 
not  effective.  Under  these  circumstances,  if  the  govern- 
ment of  her  Majesty  consents  to  respect  the  orders  of  the 
United  States  government,  which  forbid  British  subjects 
to  enter  our  ports  for  commercial  purposes,  that  govern- 
ment has  no  right,  while  this  state  of  things  continues,  to 
claim  commercial  privileges  for  its  subjects  within  the  ports 
where  it  admits  the  existence  of  a  legal  blockade;  but  it 
must  expect  those  subjects  to  depart  from  these  ports,  and 
if  they  refuse  to  do  so,  it  has  no  just  cause  of  complaint 
when  the  government  having  the  possession  of  these  ports 
compels  them  to  take  up  arms  to  defend  their  domicils 
against  servile  insurrection  or  the  attacks  of  the  troops  of 
a  hostile  power. 

I  learn  from  your  letter  that  "nearly  all  British  subjects 
have  taken  an  oath  that  they  will  not,  under  any  circum- 
stances, take  part  in  the  contest  now  raging  in  this  country, 
by  taking  up  arms  on  either  side."  In  reply  to  this,  per- 
mit me  to  remind  you  that  no  such  self-imposed  obligation 
can  free  the  subjects  of  her  Majesty  who  choose  to  remain 
in  this  State,  from  the  higher  obligation,  which,  by  the 
laws  of  nations,  they  are  under  to  the  State  lor  protection 
while  they  remain  within  its  limits. 

While  I  beg  to  assure  you  that  it  is  the  sincere  desire  of 
the  government  and  people  of  this  State,  to  cultivate  the 
most  friendly  relations  with  her  Majesty's  government  and 
people,  I  feel  it  my  duty,  for  the  reasons  already  given,  to 
decline  any  modification  of  the  order  to  which  you  refer  in 
your  communication. 

With  high  consideration  and  esteem,  I  am, 
Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

JOSEPH  E.  BROWN. 


British  Consulate,      ) 
Savannah,  Aug.  17,  1863.  > 

To  His  Excellency  Governor  Brown,  Marietta  : 

Sir  : — I  have  the  honor  to  adknowledge  the  receipt  of 
your  Excellency's  letter  of  the  Sth  inst. 

I  perfectly  understood  the  intentions  of  the  government 
in  organizing  the  force  of  8,000  men  for  home  defense,  but 


I  am  obliged  to  conclude  that  you  have  misunderstood  me 
when  I  admitted  the  right  of  the  State  to  claim  the  services 
of  British  subjects  resident  within  its  limits  for  the  purpose 
of  maintaining  internal  order,  and  even  to  a  limited  extent, 
to  defend  the  places  of  their  residence,  against  local  inva- 
sion by  a  foreign  power.  Such  service  might  be  rendered 
by  them  in  the  event  of  a  war  by  a  foreign  power,  but  not 
in  a  civil  war  like  that  which  now  rages  on  this  continent. 

Her  Majesty's  government  consider  that  the  plainest  no- 
tions of  reason  and  justice  forbid  that  a  foreigner,  admitted 
to  reside  for  peaceful  purposes  in  a  State  forming  part  of  a 
Federal  Union,  should  be  compelled  by  that  State  to  take 
an  active  part  in  hostilities  against  other  States  which, 
when  he  became  a  resident,  were  members  of  one  and  the 
same  Confederacy.  While  acknowledging  the  right  of  the 
State,  under  present  circumstances,  to  the  services  of  Brit- 
ish subjects  for  patrol  or  police  duty,  Her  Majesty's  Gov- 
ernment object  to  any  further  extension  of  such  service.  I 
have  consequently,  under  instructions,  felt  myself  compell- 
ed to  advise  those  drafted,  to  acquiesce  in  the  duty  until 
they  are  required  to  leave  their  immediate  homes,  or  to 
meet  the  United  States  forces  in  actual  conflict;  in  that 
event,  to  throw  down  their  arms  and  refuse  to  render  a  ser- 
vice, the  performance  of  which  would  run  directly  in  the 
teeth  of  her  Majesty's  proclamation,  and  render  them  liable 
to  the  severe  penalties  denounced  against  a  violation  of  the 
strict  neutrality  so  strongly  insistea  on  in  that  document, 
trusting  to  my  interference  in  their  behalf  with  the  gov- 
ernment at  Richmond,  under  whose  command  they  will  be. 
In  other  States,  British  subjects  imprisoned  for  following 
this  advice,  have  already  been  discharged  from  custody  and 
service,  by  order  of  the  War  Department. 

Your  Excellency  is  pleased  to  inform  me  that  with  the 
change  in  the  political  relations  of  the  country,  new  obli- 
gations are  imposed  on  the  subjects  of  her  Majesty  resident 
in  the  South.  I  do  not  see  why  this  should  be  so,  seeing 
that  they,  by  reason  of  their  being  aliens,  had  no  voice  what- 
ever in  the  councils  which  brought  about  the  present  state 
of  affairs.  With  regard  to  the  protection  afforded  by  the 
State  to  an  alien,  it  appears  to  me  to  extend  little  beyond 
the  safety  of  life,  a  guarantee  which  every  civilized  com- 
munity, for  its  own  sake,  extends  to  every  sojourner  in  its 
midst.  You  need  not  be  told  that  the  law  ot  Georgia  for- 
bids an  alien  to  hold  certain  kinds  of  property;  and  I  can- 
not see  how  a  thing  can  be  protected  which  is  not  suffered 
to  exist.  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  British  subjects  who 
hold  such  property  in  violation  of  law,  but  I  do  protest 
against  the  compulsory  service  in  a  civil  war,  ot  those  who 
have  never  contravened  the  law  in  this  respect. 


10 

It  is  satisfactory  to  know  that  the  option  of  leaving  the 
country  is  allowed  to  British  subjects,  and  that  no  obstacle 
will  be  thrown  in  the  way  of  those  who  prefer  to  do  so, 
rather  than  violate  the  Queen's  imperative  orders,  by  meet- 
ing in  warfare  the  United  States  forces.  If  compelled  to 
take  this  course,  however,  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  that 
the  comity  usually  observed  between  foreign  States  is  not 
very  scrupulously  observed. 

I  have  reason  to  know  that  many  who  have  not  hitherto 
been  molested,  are,  iu>  consequence  of  your  Excellency's 
proclamation,  preparing  to  leave,  not  a  few  among  them 
being  mechanics,  worth  little  or  no  property,  of  whose  in- 
estimable services,  at  this'crisis,  the  Confederacy  will  be 
deprived.  Am  I  to  understand  that  those  already  drafted 
may  avail  themselves  of  this  alternative  ? 

The  dispatches  which  1  have  received  from  the  British 
Government,  relative  to  compulsory  service,  are  strong.  I 
am  instructed  to  remonstrate  in  the  strongest  terms  against 
all  attempts  to  force  British  subjects  to  take  up  arms. 
Should  these  remonstrances  fail,  "the  governments  in  Eu- 
rope, interested  in  this  question,  will  unite  in  making  such 
representations  as  will  secure  to  aliens  this  desired  ex- 
emption." 

It  has  hitherto  been  in  my  power  to  report  to  her  Ma- 
jesty's government,  that  her  subjects  have  not  been  called 
upon  to  take  up  arms  in  this  war.  I  regret  that  your  Ex- 
cellency's decision  makes  it  impossible  to  do  so  hereafter ; 
the  more  so,  as  the  course  pursued  contrasts  so  strongly 
with  the  conduct  of  the  United  States  government,  who 
have  conceded  the  claim  of  bona  fide  British  subjects  to  ex- 
emption from  any  military  service  whatever,  and  also  with 
that  of  the  Governors  of  other  Southern  States,  who,  upon 
representation,  ordered  the  discharge  of  British  subjects 
forcibly  detained  in  service. 

I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

A.  EULLARTON, 

Acting  Consul. 


MARIETTA,  Aug.  26,  1SG3. 

Mr,  A.  Fullarlon,  Acting  Consul  of  Great  Britain: 

Dear  Sir  : — In  your  letter  of  the  17th  inst.,  now  before 
me,  you  conclude  that  I  misunderstood  you  when  you  ad- 
mitted the  right  of  the  State  to  claim  the  services  of  British 
subjects  resident  within  itsflimits  to  defend  to  a  limited  ex- 
tent, the  places  of  their  residence  against  local  invasion  by 
a  foreign  power.  You  are  pleased  to  say  that  such  service 
might  be  rendered  by  them  in  the  event  of  a  war  by  a  "for- 


11 

eign  power,"  but  not  in  a  civil  war,  like  that  which  now 
rages  on  this  continent.  Then  you  still  admit  that,  by  the 
laws  of  nations,  Her  Majesty's  subjects  resident  in  this  State 
may  be  compelled  to  render  the  service  now  required  ;  in 
other  words,  to  defend  the  places  of  their  residence  against 
local  invasion  by  a  foreign  power.  And  it  follows,  you 
being  the  judge,  that  the  claim  now  made  upon  her  Majes- 
ty's subjects  for  service,  is  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of 
nations,  if  the  Confederate  States,  of  which  Georgia  is  one, 
are  at  war  with  a  foreign  power.  But  in  your  attempt  to 
escape  the  just  Conclusion  which  results  from  your  admis- 
sions, you  virtually  deny  that  the  United  States  is  a  foreign 
pawer,  and  claim  that  Georgia  is  still  a  component  part  of 
the  Government  of  the  United  States.  You  have  probably 
been  influenced  in  your  persistence  in  this  error,  by  the  forbear- 
ance of  the  government  and  people  of  the  Confederate  States 
in  permitting  her  Majesty's  Consuls  to  remain  among  us  in  the 
exercise  of  the  functions  of  a  position  to  which  they  were 
originally  accredited  by  the  government  of  the  U.  States. 
As  it  is  no  part  of  my  purpose  to  enter  into  an  argument  to 
convince  you  that  the  United  States  is  an  hostile  power 
foreign  to  Georgia,  I  will  dismiss  this  part  of  the  controver- 
sy with  the  single  remark,  that  if  your  pretensions  be  cor- 
rect, your  appeal  for  the  protection  of  British  subjects  res- 
ident within  this  State,  should  have  been  made  to  the  gov- 
ernment at  Washington,  and  not  to  me. 

You  are  pleased  to  inform  me  that  you  have  felt  com- 
pelled to  advise  those  drafted  to  acquiesce  in  the  duty  until 
they  are  required  to  leave  their  immediate  homes,  or  to 
meet  the  United  States  forces  in  actual  conflict — in  that 
event  to  throw  down  their  arms  and  refuse  to  render  a  ser- 
vice, the  performance  of  which  would  run  directly  in  the 
teeth  of  her  Majesty's  proclamation,  &c.  It  is  worthy  of 
remark  that  the  language  you  employ  is,  "to  leave  their 
immediate  homes,  or  to  meet  the  United  States  forces  in 
actual  conflict."  Your  advice  then  to  British  subjects,  if  I 
correctly  understand  it,  is  that  when  the  United  States 
forces  attack  the  immediate  locality  of  their  homes  or  their 
own  houses,  they  are  not  to  defend  them,  as  required  by 
the  laws  of  nations,  against  such  local  invasion  .  but  they 
are  to  throw  down  their  arms  and  refuse  to  fight  for  the 
protection  of  their  domiciis.  In  reply  to  this,'  it  is  my  du- 
ty to  inform  you  that  I  can  neither  be  bound  by  your  pre- 
tensions that  the  United  States  is  not  a  power  foreign  to 
Georgia,  nor  can  I  admit  the  right  of  her  Majesty  by  proc- 
lamation to  change  the  laws  of  nations,  and  insist  upon 
maintaining  her  subjects  here  and  exempting  them  from  the 
performance  of  the  duties  imposed  upon  them  by  the  laws 
of  nations.     When  the  troops  now  drafted  have  been  turned 


12 

over  to  the  government  of  the  Confederate  States,  to  be 
held  in  readiness  to  repel  local  invasion,  if  they  should,  up- 
on the  approach  of  an  hostile  force,  follow  your  advice,  and 
throw  down  their  arms,  that  government  will  have  the 
power  to  pardon  for  such  conduct,  or  to  strike  their  names 
from  its  muster  rolls,  if  it  choose8  to  do  so  ;  but  if  an  at- 
tack, should  be  made  by  the  enemy  upon  the  immediate  lo- 
cality of  their  homes,  while  I  control  and  command  the 
forces  to  which  they  are  attached,  and  they  should  be  guil- 
ty of  conduct  so  unnatural  and  unmanly  as  to  throw  down 
their  arms  and  refuse  to  defend  their  domicils,  they  will  be 
promptly  dealt  with  as  citizens  of  this  State  would  be, 
should  they  be  guilty  of  such  dishonorable  delinquency. 

In  another  part  of  your  letter  you  take  occasion  to  say, 
that  you  do  not  see  why  the  change  in  the  political  rela- 
tions of  this  country  has  imposed  new  obligations  upon  the 
subjects  of  her  Majesty,  as  they  had  no  voice  in  the  coun- 
cils which  brought  about  the  present  state  of  affairs.  "With 
the  same  reason  you  might  say  that  you  cannot  see  why 
the  laws  of  nations  require  British  subjects  in  any  case  to 
defend  their  domicils,  when  located  in  a  foreign  country, 
against  the  local  invasion  of  another  foreign  power,  when 
they  had  no  voice  in  the  councils  which  formed  the  gov- 
ernment in  which  they  are  permitted  to  reside.  1  insist 
that  British  subjects  resident  within  its  limits,  though  they 
had  no  voice  in  the  formation  of  the  new  government,  owe 
the  same  service  to  it  when  established,  which  they  owed 
before  its  formation  to  the  government  whose  power  origi- 
nally extended  over  its  territory,  and  embraced  their  homes; 
and  that  they  are  bound  to  conform  their  conduct  to  the 
new  order  of  things,  or  to  seek  homes  and  protection  else- 
where. 

But  I  am  informed  by  your  letter  that,  with  regard  to 
the  protection  afforded  by  the  State  to  an  alien,  it  appears 
to  you  to  extend  little  beyond  the  safety  of  life.  And  as 
the  laws  of  Georgia  forbid  an  alien  to  hold  certain  kinds  of 
property,  you  cannot  see  how  a  thing  can  be  protected 
which  is  not  suffered  to  exist. 

Upon  the  first  point  I  need  only  remind  you  that  our 
Courts  are  at  all  times  open  to  aliens  belonging  to  friendly 
powers  for  the  redress  of  their  wrongs,  and  that  the  same 
protection  is  extended  to  their  persons  and  all  the  property 
they  legally  possess,  which  is  enjoyed  by  citizens  of  this 
State. 

I  trust  a  re-examination  of  the  laws  of  your  own  country 
would  satisfy  your  mind  upon  the  other  point,  as  you  will 
there  find  that  the  laws  of  Great  Britain  forbid  an  alien  to 
hold  "certain  kinds  of  property,"  and  it  is  the  boast  of  that 
Government  that   it  protects  aliens  who    reside  within  its 


13 

jurisdiction.  The  laws  of  Great  Britain  in  reference  to  the 
right  of  aliens  to  hold  certain  kinds  of  property,  while 
domiciled  in  that  kingdom,  are  certainly  not  more  liberal  to 
the  citizens  of  Georgia  than  the  laws  of  Georgia  are  to  the 
subjects  of  Great  Britain. 

While  I  am  unable  to  perceive  the  justice  of  your  com- 
plaint in  the  particulars  last  mentioned,  it  is  gratifying  to 
know  that  there  is  no  law  of  nations  or  of  this  State  which 
throws  any  obstructions  in  the  way  of  the  removal  of  any 
British  subject  from  the  State  who  is  not  satisfied  with  the 
privileges  and  protection  which  he  enjoys,  you  remind  me, 
however,  that  not  a  few  of  them  are  mechanics,  of  whose 
inestimable  services,  at  this  crisis,  the  Confederacy  will  be 
deprived  in  case  of  their  removal.  These  mechanics  have 
no  doubt  remained  in  this  State  because  they  felt  it  their 
interest  to  remain.  And  in  reference  to  them,  this  State 
will  very  cheerfully  adopt  the  rule  which  generally  controls 
the  British  Government.  She  will  consult  her  own  interest, 
and  will  exempt  from  military  service  for  local  defense,  such 
mechanics  who  are  aliens,  as  choose  to  remain  and  will  be 
more  serviceable  in  that  capacity. 

I  reply  in  the  affirmative  to  your  inquiry  whether  aliens 
already  drafted  may  avail  themselves  of  the  alternative  of 
leaving  the  State  in  preference  to  rendering  the  service. 
"While  an  alien  will  not  be  permitted  to  evade  the  service 
by  leaving  the  State  temporarily  during  the  emergency, 
and  then  returning,  his  right  to  leave  permanently  when  he 
chooses,  will. not  be  questioned.  I  do  not  insist  that  an  alien 
shall  remain  here  to  serve  the  State,  but  I  contend  that 
while  he  chooses  to  remain  under  the  protection  of  the  State, 
he  is  bound  by  the  laws  of  nations  and  of  this  State  to  obey 
her  call  to  defend  his  domicil  against  insurrection  or  local 
invasion. 

This,  I  apprehend,  is  all  that  is  intended  to  be  claimed 
by  your  government  in  the  instructions  which  you  quote. 
While  the  British  government  has  a  right  to  demand  that 
its  subjects  shall  not  be  detained  here  against  their  will, 
and  compelled  to  take  up  arms  on  either  side,  it  certainly 
would  not  place  itself  before  the  world  in  the  false  position 
of  insisting  on  the  right  of  its  subjects  to  remain  in  anoth- 
er State,  contrary  to  the  wish  of  the  government  of  such 
State  and  to  be  exempt  from  the  service  which,  by  the  com- 
mon consent  of  nations,  such  State  has  a  right  to  demand. 
You  conclude  your  letter  by  informing  me  that  my  de- 
cision contrasts  strongly  with  the  conduct  of  the  United 
States  government,  who  have  conceded  the  claim  of  bona- 
fide  British  subjects  to  exemption  from  any.military  service 
whatever. 
As  the  United  States  government  is   the  invading  party 


14 

in  this  war,  and  can  but  seldom  need  the  services  of  Brit- 
ish subjects  to  defend  their  domicils,  which  are  scarcely 
ever  subject  to  invasion,  as  it  has  no  right  under  the  laws 
of  nations  to  compel  them  to  bear  arms  in  its  invading  ar- 
mies, as  it  is  not  in  a  condition  to  be  compelled  to  econo- 
mize its  supply  of  provisions,  and  as  it  is  reported  that  it  has, 
by  the  use  of  money,  drawn  large  numbers  of  recruits  for 
its  armies  from  the  dominions  of  her  Majesty,  in  violation  of 
the  laws  of  her  realm,  it  may  well  allbrd  to  affect  a  pretended 
liberality,  which  costs  it  neither  sacrifice  nor  inconvenience. 
But  you  say  that  my  decision  also  contrasts  strongly  "with 
that  of  the  Governors  of  other  Southern  States,  who,  upon 
representation,  ordered  the  discharge  of  British  subjects  for- 
cibly detained  in  service."  In  a  former  part  of  your  letter, 
when  speaking  of  the  advice  given  to  British  subjects  to 
throw  down  their  arms,  in  case  they  should  be  required  to 
meet  the  United  States  forces  in  actual  conflict,  you  use 
this  sentence  :  In  other  States  British  subjects  imprisoned 
for  following  this  advice  have  already  been  discharged  from 
custody  and  service  by  order  of  the  War  Department." 
Excuse  me  for  remarking  that  these  two  sentences  contrast 
so  strongly  with  each  other  that  I  am  unable  to  understand 
why  it  became  necessary  for  the  War  Department  to  inter- 
fere and  discharge  British  subjects  imprisoned  in  other 
States  for  throwing  down  their  arms  and  refusing  to  light, 
if  the  Governors  of  those  States  had,  upon  representation, 
in  all  cases  ordered  the  discharge  of  British  subjects  forci- 
bly detained  in  service. 

Trusting  that  my  position  is  fully  understood  by  you,  and 
that  it  may  not  be  necessary  to  protract  this  discussion,  1 
am,  with  high  consideration  and  esteem, 

Very  respectfully  ,your  ob't  aerv't, 

JOSEPH  E.  BROWN. 


British   (-onsilate,      ) 
Savannah,  Sept.  12,  1863.  ) 
To  His  Excellency  Governor  Bruicn,  Marietta  : 

Sir  : — In  your  letter  of  the  20th  ulr,  your  Excellency 
informed  me  that  aliens  already  drafted,  may  avail  them- 
selves of  the  alternative  of  leaving  the  State  in  preference 
to  rendering  service.  I  have  now  the  honor,  therefore,  to 
request  your  Excellency  to  issue  orders  to  your  officers  to 
grant  J.  D.  and  F.  M.  Kiely,  two  drafted  subjects,  residents 
of  Rome,  Ga.,  leave  to  quit  the  State,  and  permission  to 
remain  unmolested  in  Rome  30  days  to  settle  their  affairs 
in  that  city. 

I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient  serv't, 

A.  FULLARTON,  Acting  Consul. 


15 
Marietta,  Sept,  14,  1868. 
Mr.  A.  Fullarton,  Acting  Consul  of  Great  Britain  : 

Dear  Sir  — I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  re- 
ceipt of  your  communication  of  the  12th  inst.,  in  which 
you  request  me  to  issue  orders  to  the  commanding  officers 
to  grant  J.  D.  and  F.  M.  Kiely,  two  drafted  British  sub- 
jects, residents  of  Rome,  Ga.,  leave  to  quit  the  State,  and 
to  remain  unmolested  in  Rome  30  days  to  settle  theiraftairs 
in  that  city.  This  permission  will  be  cheerfully  granted 
upon  the  production  to  me  of  sufficient  evidence  that  the 
persons  named  are  British  subjects. 

By  an  ordinance  of  the  Convention  of  this  State,  repre- 
senting her  people  and  her  sovereignty,  passed  on  the  10th 
day  of  March,  1861,  it  is  declared  : 

"That  all  white  persons  resident  in  this  Stateat  the  time 
of  the  secession  of  the  State  from  the  United  States  with 
the  bona  fide  intention  of  making  it  the  place  of  their  per- 
manent abode,  shall  be  considered  as  citizens  of  this  State, 
without  reference  to  their  place  of  birth  ;  Provided,  that 
any  person  not  born  in  this  State  can  exempt  him  or  her- 
self from  the  operation  of  this  ordinance,  by  a  declaration 
in  any  Court  of  Record  in  the  State,  within  three  months 
from  this  date,  that  he  or  she  does  not  wish  to  be  considered 
a  citizen  of  this  State." 

The  Ordinance  of  Secession  referred  to  in  the  above  quo- 
tation, was  passed  on  the  19th  day  of  January,  1861. 

If  the  Messrs.  Kiely  were  resident  in  this  State  on  the 
19th  day  of  January,  1861,  and  did  not  file  their  declara- 
tion in  a  Court  of  Record  in  this  State  within  three  months 
from  the  16th  day  of  March,  186 1,  that  they  did  not  wish 
to  become  citizens  of  this  State*  they  accepted  the  privile- 
ges and  obligations  of  citizenship  offered  them  by  the  State 
and  ceased  to  be  British  subjects,  and  are  consequently  not 
entitled  to  the  leave  to  quit  the  State,  for  which  you  ask 
under  my  letter  of  26th  ult.  If,  however,  they  became 
residents  of  this  State  at  any  time  since  the  10th  day  of 
January,  1861,  or  if  they  were  then  residents,  and  filed  their 
declaration  as  required  by  the  ordinance,  within  three 
months  after  the  16th  day  of  March,  1861,  they  will  be  al- 
lowed the  30  days  to  arrange  their  affairs  as  you  request, 
and  permitted  to  depart  from  the  State  at  the  expiration  of 
that  term. 

With  high  consideration,  I  am,  very  respectfully, 
Your  obedient  servant, 

JOSEPH  E.  BROWN. 


Hollinger 

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